Here's the News of the Week from St. Mark's Chapel for 07-05-2019:

Saint Mark's Vision Survey
Please take the St. Mark’s Vision Survey. We would like feedback to get a better sense of what we value and what St. Mark’s as a whole prioritizes as dreams for the future. 
Click Here to take the Survey!
Thank you for taking the time to complete this six question survey.
~ The St. Mark’s Vision Survey Team

Join the Fun!
If you are interested in being part of the St. Mark’s team in the Steeple Chase Ride/Walk on August 17th please contact Madison Day or the church office. The Steeple Chase Ride/Walk is a 5-mile walk and 20-100 mile Bike Tour through the scenic Northeast Connecticut's "Quiet Corner". 
Follow the link below for more information on this exhilarating event!

https://stmarkschapel.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d4bef094c67c47fd55f6205d5&id=a880e1460a&e=ed78b9badf

Invitation to Try Something New
Rev. Brian is going away in August and it might be a good alternative to do morning prayer. Based on the congregation’s recent feedback, an alternative prayer service would be happily welcomed. If this is something that interests you please let Brian or a member of the vestry know.

Camp Washington
Is your child looking for excitement this summer? At Camp Washington, your child will be part of a creative and fun God filled community! Register here:

https://www.campwashington.org/summercamp

Youth @ Convention 2019

At the diocesan convention on October 26 and 27th there is a special youth presence session on Saturday, October 26 including an overnight at a parish in Hartford. If you have any interest in being a youth delegate let Rev. Brian know.

 Here's the News of the Week for June 28 from St. Mark's Chapel!

• NE Region Liaison
  Fred Day-Lewis has agreed to serve as St. Mark’s parish liaison to the region. We want to congratulate and thank Fred for his service.

​

• Will you step up?
  St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel is looking for someone to gather a team to walk in the WAIM Steeple Chase. The Steeple Chase Ride/Walk is a 5-mile walk and 20-100 mile Bike Tour through scenic Northeast Connecticut's "Quiet Corner". 100% of the proceeds go to support: Perception Programs, Inc **Windham Area Interfaith Ministry** Windham No Freeze project.
  Follow the link below for more information on this exhilarating event!
  https://stmarkschapel.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d4bef094c67c47fd55f6205d5&id=85f2a1e1a5&e=ed78b9badf

​

• The Office Needs Your Help
  • Two Filing Cabinets
    The office is currently in search for two legal size 4-drawer filing cabinets. This will provide more space and allow for improved organization. Let the office know if you would be willing to donate your old filing cabinets or purchase new ones as a gift!
  • Quickbooks 2016
    The office is looking for anyone who would have a 2016 QB license or disk we could use/load on the office computer. Let the office know if you may be able to help!

​

• The Anglican Vision
  On July 3rd, 6:30pm-8pm, join Rev. Brian for food and conversation as we explore The Anglican Vision, by James E. Griffiths. Please RSVP at the office and let us know if you will be contributing to the meal.

​

• Invitation to Try Something New
  Rev. Brian is going away in August and it might be a good alternative to do morning prayer. Based on the congregation’s recent feedback, an alternative prayer service would be happily welcomed. If this is something that interests you please let Brian or a member of the vestry know.

​

• Camp Washington
  Is your child looking for excitement this summer? At Camp Washington your child will be part of a creative and fun God filled community! Click on the link below to register.
  https://stmarkschapel.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d4bef094c67c47fd55f6205d5&id=e9e8f9d4a6&e=ed78b9badf

​

• Youth @ Convention 2019
  At the diocesan convention on October 26 and 27th there is a special youth presence session on Saturday, October 26 including an overnight at a parish in Hartford. If you have any interest in being a youth delegate let Rev. Brian know.

The audio cuts for St. Mark's Chapel's 10 am service on 06-23-19, the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost.
 
Recorded tracks:
 
Greeting, Announcements (Rev. Brian Blayer)

1st Reading:  Isaiah 65:1-9 (Bruce Steinway)

2nd Reading:  Romans 8:14-17(Bruce Steinway)

Gospel: Luke 8:26-39 (Rev. Brian Blayer) 

Sermon (Rev. Brian Blayer)

​

Happy Friday! Here's the News of the Week!            June 21, 2019

• Invitation To Try Something New
  Rev. Brian is going away in August and it might be a good alternative to do morning prayer. Based on the congregation’s recent feedback, an alternative prayer service would be happily welcomed. If this is something that interests you please let Brian or a member of the vestry know.

​

• The Office Needs Your Help
  • Two Filing Cabinets
    The office is currently in search for two legal size 4-drawer filing cabinets. This will provide more space and allow for improved organization. Let the office know if you would be willing to donate your old filing cabinets or purchase new ones as a gift!
  • Quickbooks 2016
    The office is looking for anyone who would have a 2016 QB license or disk we could use/load on the office computer. Let the office know if you may be able to help!

​

• Dear Friends:
  My heart is overflowing: The fun and over-sized card arrived bringing joy and smiles. I especially loved that so many of the Sunday School kids signed the card. 
  Thank you for the very generous check enclosed with the card. It is sincerely appreciated.
  Sending lots of love and happy wishes for wonderful summer adventures to each and everyone of you.
  Linda

​

• The Anglican Vision
  June 26 and July 3rd, 6:30pm-8pm, join Rev. Brian for food and conversation as we explore The Anglican Vision, by James E. Griffiths. If you’re new to the Episcopal Church or just want to have a deeper experience of our faith practice, The Anglican Vision is a short book which looks at the history, mission, and identity of the Anglican Church around the world. Please RSVP at the office and let us know if you will be contributing to the meal.

​

• Will you step up?
  St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel is looking for someone to gather a team to walk in the WAIM Steeple Chase. The Steeple Chase Ride/Walk is a 5-mile walk and 20-100 mile Bike Tour through scenic Northeast Connecticut's "Quiet Corner". 100% of the proceeds go to support: Perception Programs, Inc **Windham Area Interfaith Ministry** Windham No Freeze project.
  Follow the link below for more information on this exhilarating event!
  https://www.bikereg.com/steeple-chase-bike-tour

​

• Vacation Bible School
  “The Child of God” Vacation Bible School will be held at Storrs Congregational Church, July 29 - August 2, 9-12:30. Although we are all children of God, they are specifically focusing on stories involving children. Registration details coming soon. Volunteers are needed to help with arts and crafts, snacks, and just being another set of hands. Please let the church office know if you can help out.

• Camp Washington
  Is your child looking for excitement this summer? At Camp Washington your child will be part of a creative and fun God filled community! Click on the link below to register.
  https://www.campwashington.org/summercamp

​

• Youth @ Convention 2019
  ​At the diocesan convention on October 26 and 27th there is a special youth presence session on Saturday, October 26 including an overnight at a parish in Hartford. If you have any interest in being a youth delegate let Rev. Brian know.

The audio cuts for St. Mark's Chapel's 10 am Trinity Sunday family service on 06-16-19. This was our monthly family service at which nearly every laity ministry was performed by the Sunday School students

Recorded tracks:

Greeting, Announcements (Rev. Brian Blayer)

1st Reading:  Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 (Laura Day)

Psalm Response:  Psalm 8 (Laura Day)

2nd Reading:  Romans 5:1-5(Laura Day)

Gospel: John 16:12-45 (Rev. Brian Blayer)  

Sermon (Rev. Brian Blayer)

News of the Week - June 14, 2019

Will You Step Up?
St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel is looking for someone to gather a team to walk in the WAIM Steeple Chase. The Steeple Chase Ride/Walk is a 5 mile walk and 20-100 mile Bike Tour through the scenic Northeast Connecticut's "Quiet Corner".  100% of the proceeds go to support: Perception Programs, Inc **Windham Area interfaith Ministry** Windham No Freeze project.   Follow the link below for more information on this exhilarating event!
​
https://www.bikereg.com/steeple-chase-bike-tour

NE Region Liaison - St. Marks
We are looking for a parishioner to act as a liaison to the NE Region. This role would play two key responsibilities:

1) Communicate and announce things going on with the churches in our region,
2) Inform the NE Region team about things happening at St Marks.

Please contact Steve Paasch for more information or if interested.

The Anglican Vision
June 26 and July 3rd, 6:30pm-8pm, join Rev. Brian for food and conversation as we explore The Anglican Vision, by James E. Griffiths.  If you’re new to the Episcopal Church or just want to have a deeper experience of our faith practice, The Anglican Vision is a short book which looks at the history, mission, and identity of the Anglican Church around the world. Please RSVP at the office and let us know if you will be contributing to the meal.

Camp Washington
Is your child looking for excitement this summer? At Camp Washington your child will be part of a creative and fun God filled community!  Click below to register today!

https://www.campwashington.org/summercamp

Vacation Bible School
“The Child of God” Vacation Bible School will be held at Storrs Congregational Church, July 29 - August 2, 9-12:30.  Although we are all children of God, they are specifically focusing on stories involving children. Registration details coming soon. Volunteers are needed to help with arts and crafts, snacks, and just being another set of hands. Please let the church office know if you can help out.

Youth @ Convention 2019
At the diocesan convention on October 26 and 27th there is a special youth presence session on Saturday, October 26 including an overnight at a parish in Hartford. If you have any interest in being a youth delegate let Rev. Brian know.

The audio cuts for St. Mark's Chapel's 10 am Pentecost service on 06-09-19.

Recorded tracks:

• Greeting, Announcements (Rev. Brian Blayer)
  
• Gospel: John 14:8-17 (25-27) (Rev. Brian Blayer)  
  
• Sermon (Rev. Brian Blayer)
  

Scripture references:

1. The First Lesson - Acts 2:1-21
   
2. Psalm Response - Psalm 104:25-35, 37
3. The New Testament - Romans 8:14-17
   
4. Gospel - John 14:8-17 (25-27)
   

Updated for 2 last-minute additions:

•  Vacation Bible School
  Vacation Bible School will be held at Storrs Congregational Church, July 29 - August 2, 9-12:30, with a celebratory worship service in their Meetinghouse on August 4. They accept ages 4-12, with special programming for ages 10-12. Lunch will not be provided but they offer 2 hearty snacks. One when the children arrive at 9:00 and another around 12:00 before they leave at 12:30. 
  
  The theme this year is “Child of God”. Although we are all children of God, they are specifically focusing on stories involving children.
• NE Region Liaison - St Marks
  We are looking for a parishioner to act as a liaison to the NE Region. This role would play two key responsibilities: 1) communicate and announce things going on with the churches in our region, 2) inform the NE Region team about things happening at St Marks.
  Please contact Steve Paasch for more information or if interested.

The audio cuts for St. Mark's Chapel's 10 am Ascension Day service on June 2, 2019. 

Recorded tracks:

Greeting, Announcements (Rev. Brian Blayer)

1st Reading:  Acts 1:1-11 (Acey Neel)

2nd Reading:  Ephesians 1:15-23(Acey Neel)

Gospel: Luke 24:44-53(Rev. Brian Blayer)  

Sermon (Rev. Brian Blayer)

The one announcement for St. Mark's Chapel for June 2, 2019, Ascension Day. Yes, there's no PDF copy - just this one announcement. 
Your editor's note: This was the final week for our parish administrator, Linda Austin-Small. However, she was pretty much absent all week with health issues, so I missed my opportunity to personally tell her my heartfelt thanks for her help over the years enabling me to provide online weekly parish announcements and other online documents for the parish.
>> Readers needed for Pentecost on June 9
The tradition is for the reading from Acts to be done in several languages. If you are interested in reading a part in a language other than English for this service, please let Rev. Brian know.

The audio cuts for St. Mark's Chapel's 6th Sunday of Easter 10 am family service on 05-26-19. This was our monthly family service at which nearly every laity ministry was performed by the Sunday School students. 
One of the visitors in the pews was Bishop A. Robert Herschfeld and his wife. Bob is a former rector of St. Mark’s who was visiting some long-time parishioners. He was consecrated bishop of the diocese of New Hampshire in 2012.

Recorded tracks:

>>  Greeting, Announcements (Rev. Brian Blayer)

>>  1st Reading:  Acts 16:9-15 (Lucas Anderson)

>>  Psalm Response:  Psalm 67 (Ethan Hanzlik)

>>  2nd Reading:  Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5(Lucas Anderson)

>>  Gospel: John 14:23-29 (Rev. Brian Blayer)

>>  Sermon (Rev. Brian Blayer)

Dear Friends:

Here is the news of the week:

• Hear ye, hear ye:  All are invited for wonderful morning of prayer, conversation, food, and fun as we share ideas about who we are as a congregation and where God is calling us.  This Saturday,  9am-12 noon. Breakfast will be served at 8:30am.  
• United Thank Offering/Last Sunday Offering for May to be collected this Sunday.  Please remember your blue and white boxes.
• A Message from Maggie Breen, North East Regional Missionary
  The North East Region Leadership Team is seeking to fill 4 spots—three lay people and 1 clergy representing 4 different parishes. The Leadership Team meets once a month on a date/time/place that works best for the group.  As a member of the leadership team, you would be expected to help plan Convocations each year and help with planning the annual convention as needed. Currently parishes represented on the leadership team are:  St. Georges, Bolton, St. Peter’s, South Windsor, Trinity Brooklyn, Christ Church, Pomfret, and St. John’s, Vernon.
• Did you miss the opportunity to sign up for serving on the Altar Guild?  There is still time.  Sue DeWolf and Gale Morrow will do the training this Sunday following the 10am service. Please consider serving St. Mark’s this way.
• Vacation Bible School    July 29-August 2    9am-12:30pm
  Once again, St. Mark’s is partnering with Storrs Congregational Church to offer kids an opportunity to engage with the Bible through music, song, and imagination. Vacation Bible School is free, and open to the first 50 children, ages 4-11  from our congregations who register.  Registration details coming soon.
  
  

Best wishes, Linda

The audio cuts for St. Mark's Chapel's 10 am 5th Sunday of Easter service on 05-19-19. An interesting thing happened during the sermon. Rev. Brian asked for a show of hands of those in the congregation who came from other faiths. All of the 30 or so raised their hands! Rev. Brian was the only one who was raised an Episcopalian.

Recorded tracks:

Greeting, Announcements (Rev. Brian Blayer)

1st Reading:  Acts 11:1-18 (Laurie Gypson)

2nd Reading:  Revelation 21:1-6(Laurie Gypson)

Gospel: John 13:31-35 (Rev. Brian Blayer)

Sermon (Rev. Brian Blayer)

The audio cuts for St. Mark's Chapel's 10 am 4th Sunday of Easter service on 05-12-19. Today was Mothers Day, and Rev. Brian managed to blend this holiday with the Gospel message of Jesus as the shepherd.
My apologies for the delay. I was dealing with several technical problems that decided to rear their ugly heads.

Recorded tracks:

Greeting, Announcements (Rev. Brian Blayer)

1st Reading:  Acts 9:36-43 (Anne Flamming)

2nd Reading:  Revelation 7:9-17(Anne Flamming)

Gospel: John 10:22-30 (Rev. Brian Blayer)

Sermon (Rev. Brian Blayer)

Dear Friends:

Here is the news of the week:

• Hear ye, hear ye:  All are invited for wonderful morning of prayer, conversation, food, and fun as we share ideas about who we are as a congregation and where God is calling us.  Saturday, May 25 9am-12 noon. Breakfast will be served at 8:30am.  
• Did you get a UTO box last Sunday?  Extras are available on the table in Goodwin Hall.  Through the United Thank Offering, men, women and children nurture the habit of giving daily thanks to God.  These prayers of thanksgiving start when we recognize and name our many daily blessings.  Those who participate in the UTO have discovered that thankfulness leads to generosity.  UTO combines these generous offerings to fund significant projects that make a real difference in the work of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion and a real difference in people’s lives.  Boxes will be collected on May 26 and are the Last Sunday Offering for May. 
• Prayers of the People—It is a wonderful practice in the Episcopal Church to pray each week for those we love or may have died.  Thank you to those who have let us know your prayer requests.  Please continue to update the list with the office on a weekly basis.
• Did you notice how lovely and refreshed the church landscaping looks?  Many thanks to Sue Gagnon for bringing in a crew to do spring cleanup, weed and mulch the beds around the building. 
• Thank you to everyone who made the St. Mark's Day Picnic and Ministry Fair a big success!  And thank you to those who signed up to participate in the various ministries.  Delighted to have so many new volunteers!
• Oh boy, Oh boy!  It is a boy for Wei Zhang and John Bovay. Welcome to baby Matthew!
• UConn graduation is this Sunday!  Congratulations to all graduates and their families.  It is a day to celebrate.  However, it may impact getting to St. Mark's.  Please plan accordingly.Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, aunts and  and important women in your life.  It takes a village. 

Best wishes, Linda